UPDATE: Taco Bell announced it was keeping the promotion at 10 local franchises, according to the Associated Press.

From the AP:

On Wednesday, Taco Bell announced it was retaining the giveaway at 10 of its area restaurants through this season.

“Our local franchisee is grateful for the passionate Taco Bell fans at Michigan State University and is exploring exciting new partnerships with MSU Athletics,” Taco Bell Corp. said in an email statement to The Associated Press. “As a thank you to fans, customers with an MSU basketball game ticket can still get a free taco at the locations below for the remainder of the season when the team scores at least 70 points.”

The announcement came after multiple outlets, including this one, reported that Taco Bell had ended the time honored tradition.

MLive.com reported earlier Wednesday that a longstanding and popular promotion that provided free tacos to Michigan State basketball fans whenever the Spartans score 70 or more points has not been renewed this season:

Various Taco Bell locations in and around East Lansing had long provided a free taco to anyone who proved by way of ticket stub they had attended an MSU basketball wherein the Spartans scored at least 70 points. But the fast food giant ended that time-honored promotion this year.

“The sponsorship agreement with them ran out,” MSU associate athletic director Paul Schager said, “and they decided not to renew it, although it was a fan-favorite and something very positive and very popular….

Schager said the promotion had been in place since 2004. He said it was a good partnership for both parties, but Taco Bell’s corporate officials made the call to end the deal.

Taco Bell officials did not return MLive.com’s call, either because there’s no reasonable justification for denying people free tacos after their team puts up 70 points or because they’re busy crafting a new configuration of Taco Bell ingredients so glorious it will make everyone forget all about this latest batch of bad press.

Still, it only takes one rogue franchisee to take a stand against the stooges that brought this wonderful benevolence to a halt and start distributing free tacos again. Since Crunchy Tacos cost consumers less than a dollar, a single taco can’t exactly be a huge investment to get people into the store and develop the type of goodwill that can only come with free tacos.

And isn’t that why you got into this business in the first place, East Lansing-area Taco Bell owners? It used to be about the tacos. Let the suckers over in regular Lansing worry about appeasing the suits. East Lansing is for two things: Michigan State Spartans basketball and the free-taco glee it begets. Let’s keep it that way.

Spartan faithful thought they would be forced to pay for Taco Bell like the rest of us.

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